Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993a%26a...271..630s&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 271, 630-644. Article.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
10
Comets, Orbital Anomalies, Light Curve, P/Brorsen, P/Finlay, P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 2, Comets, Periodic Comets, Brorsen, Finlay, Schwassmann-Wachmann 2, Orbits, Anomalies, Lightcurve, Comet Nuclei, Momentum, Sublimation, Motion, Water, Production Rate, Precession, Insolation, Emissions, Solar Effects, Calculations, Parameters, Outgassing
Scientific paper
Activation of new discrete sources appears to be a common phenomenon on the nuclei of periodic comets. Some of these sources have life spans as short as 1-2 revolutions about the Sun or less, while others are much more persistent (enduring for dozens of revolutions or longer). One line of evidence for an episode of this kind is an orbital anomaly, a sudden redistribution of the momentum that is transferred to the nucleus by the sublimating mass. Such discontinuities in the orbital motion have been reported for a number of periodic comets, of which Brorsen, Finlay, and Schwassmann-Wachmann 2 are investigated in some detail in this paper. Since the "ignition" and/or deactivation of a discrete source also entail parallel changes in the comet's water production and light curves, the latter provide constraints on the activation/deactivation scenarios. Although no unique solution can be offered in any particular case, the best conditions for detecting such events generally occur when the nucleus rotation vector is near the orbital plane and normal to the Sun's direction at perihelion and when the activated/deactivated source is near one of the rotation poles. Especially for highly irregular nuclei, forced precession is a likely byproduct of such episodes and it may assist in activating additional sources by altering the insolation distribution over the nucleus surface.
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